Connect with us

Business

Walmart hikes sales and earnings forecast as it attracts shoppers across incomes

Published

on

Walmart hikes sales and earnings forecast as it attracts shoppers across incomes


A shopper pushes a cart outside a Walmart store in San Leandro, California, US, on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025.

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Walmart raised its sales and earnings outlook Thursday as the retailer posted revenue gains in its fiscal third quarter, driven by double-digit e-commerce growth and new customers across incomes.

The retailer said it expects full-year net sales to climb between 4.8% and 5.1%, up from its previous expectations of 3.75% to 4.75%. It said it expects its adjusted earnings per share to range from $2.58 to $2.63, a slight raise from its prior range of $2.52 to $2.62.

It marked the second quarter in a row Walmart hiked its full-year forecast. 

Walmart’s earnings report is the first since the Arkansas-based company announced a leadership change. The big-box retailer said last week that John Furner, the CEO of its U.S. business, will succeed longtime CEO Doug McMillon on Feb. 1.

In an interview with CNBC, Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey said consumer habits didn’t change during the quarter, as shoppers spent selectively and looked for deals. He said Walmart has gained those “value-seeking” customers across incomes, both because of the economic backdrop and its own strategic moves.

“Consumers are looking to do business with those companies that are providing value, that are delivering the convenience that they’ve come to know and expect, and that are executing consistently well,” he said.

He said Walmart saw an impact from the pause in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits, formerly known as food stamps, during the prolonged government shutdown. But he said “that’s starting to rebound now that people are receiving those funds again.”

Here is what the big-box retailer reported for the fiscal third quarter compared with Wall Street’s estimates, according to a survey of analysts by LSEG:

  • Earnings per share: 62 cents adjusted vs. 60 cents expected
  • Revenue: $179.50 billion vs. $177.43 billion expected

Walmart also said Thursday that it will transfer the listing of its common stock to the Nasdaq and will begin trading there on Dec. 9. It is currently traded on the New York Stock Exchange. It will have the same stock ticker symbol, “WMT.”

The company’s stock closed Thursday at $107.11, up about 6.5%. As of Thursday’s close, shares of Walmart are up about 19% so far this year. That outpaces the S&P 500’s approximately 11% gains during the same period. 

As a retail giant that draws shoppers across incomes, Walmart is closely watched as an indication of the health of the U.S. consumer and how President Donald Trump‘s tariffs are affecting the prices shoppers pay. It can speak to consumer behavior across categories, since it sells discretionary items like makeup and clothes along with necessities like milk and toilet paper.

Walmart has gained more high-income customers as even affluent households sought relief from pricier grocery bills due to high inflation in recent years. That cohort also has responded to store remodels and faster deliveries. 

That growth continued in the most recent quarter, Rainey told CNBC. He said Walmart has gained market share across incomes, but “they’re more pronounced in the upper-income segment.”

Some of those shoppers have come to Walmart for speed, Rainey said. The retailer can now deliver to about 95% of U.S. households from stores in under three hours.

Customers now expedite about a third of its online orders from stores to arrive in one- or three-hour timeframes, he said. He said revenue related to those faster deliveries has increased 70% year over year. The company charges a fee for some speedier orders, and others are included as a benefit of its subscription-based membership program, Walmart+.

The expedited delivery service is popular, even with shoppers with lower incomes, he said. During the weeks of November when SNAP benefits were paused, Rainey said Walmart noticed a dip in that volume.

In the three-month period that ended Oct. 31, Walmart’s net income increased to $6.14 billion, or 77 cents per share, from $4.58 billion, or 57 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Excluding one-time items, such as business reorganization charges, Walmart’s adjusted earnings per share was 62 cents.

Revenue rose from $169.59 billion in the year-ago quarter. 

Comparable sales for Walmart U.S. rose 4.5% in the third quarter, excluding fuel, compared with the year-ago period. That surpassed analysts’ expectations of 4% growth, according to StreetAccount. The industry metric, also called same-store sales, includes sales from stores and clubs open for at least a year.

At Sam’s Club, comparable sales rose 3.8%, excluding fuel. 

Walmart e-commerce sales grew by 27% globally, as all segments of the company posted sharp gains. In the U.S., e-commerce rose 28%, driven by increases in store-fulfilled delivery of online orders and growth of advertising and its third-party marketplace.

E-commerce sales internationally jumped 26% and at Sam’s Club in the U.S., they rose 22%.

In the U.S., shoppers made more trips to Walmart and spent more on those visits. Customer transactions rose 1.8% and average ticket increased by 2.7%.

As Walmart gains more digital traffic and adds more products to its third-party marketplace, advertising has been a meaningful growth area, too. In the quarter, its global advertising business increased by 53%, including Vizio, the smart TV maker it acquired last year for $2.3 billion. Its U.S. advertising business, Walmart Connect, grew 33% year over year. 

Walmart is mulling another acquisition after it expanded its third-party marketplace rapidly in recent years, as it is in talks to buy R&A Data, a startup that works to curb scams and counterfeits, CNBC reported Wednesday.

Like other retailers, Walmart has said it raised prices on some items to offset higher costs from tariffs. About a third of what Walmart sells in the U.S. comes from other parts of the world, with China, Mexico, Canada, Vietnam and India representing its largest markets for imports, Rainey told CNBC in May.

On a call with CNBC on Thursday, Rainey said when it comes to higher tariff costs, “the pressure is real.” Yet, he said Walmart’s team has been able to reduce the impact on customers by finding ways to absorb some costs.

Furner, Walmart’s incoming CEO who currently leads the retailer’s U.S. business, said on the earnings call that there’s been some relief on key food categories, which is helping offset tariff cost pressures. Earlier this month, Trump exempted some major agricultural imports, including cocoa, bananas and coffee, from increased duties as he faced backlash over high prices.

Plus, Furner said the big-box retailer’s wider assortment has helped the company find a balance as it increases prices on some items and lowers them on others. It’s also adjusted its merchandise orders to reduce the risk of markdowns. For example, it’s kept a larger inventory of items for kids, since people tend to prioritize their families even when they feel financial pressure, he said.

Walmart’s gains in non-food categories, which tend to be higher margin, have also helped. Sales of fashion, a category that includes apparel, shoes, jewelry and accessories, grew more than 5% in the quarter compared to the year-ago period, he said.

Walmart’s results on Thursday followed cautious updates from Target, Home Depot and Lowe’s. All three of those retailers lowered their full-year profit outlooks this week and referred to consumers who were hesitant to make big purchases and hungry for deals. 

T.J. Maxx and Marshalls parent company TJX, on the other hand, hiked its full-year forecast, saying it’s seeing a “strong start” to the holidays as it caters to value-conscious shoppers.

Rainey said Walmart is “going into the holiday pretty optimistic,” saying it’s prepared with competitive price points.



Source link

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Business

SoftBank reduces Ola Electric stake to 13.5% from 15.6% – The Times of India

Published

on

SoftBank reduces Ola Electric stake to 13.5% from 15.6% – The Times of India


BENGALURU: Masayoshi Son-led SoftBank Group pared its holding in Ola Electric Mobility to 13.5% from 15.6%, in what appears like a staggered exit from the electric 2-wheeler maker that was once among its marquee India bets. SVF II Ostrich (DE), a SoftBank affiliate and Ola Electric’s second-largest shareholder after founder Bhavish Aggarwal, sold 9.4 crore shares through open market transactions between Sept 3, 2025, and Jan 5, 2026, according to a regulatory filing.



Source link

Continue Reading

Business

Government urged to make nutrition labels on front of food packaging mandatory

Published

on

Government urged to make nutrition labels on front of food packaging mandatory



Nutrition labels on the front of food packaging should be made mandatory in the UK, according to a consumer champion.

Which? called on the Government to make the change amid what it described as an “obesity crisis”.

A “better approach” is needed to help people make healthier choices, it said.

It comes after research by the group found shoppers prefer traffic light labelling, although they said it could be improved with more prominent placing and increased size.

Traffic light labelling on food packaging was introduced in 2013 and uses green (low), amber (medium), and red (high) colours to show fat, saturated fat, sugar, and salt content, plus calories.

The system is not mandatory in the UK, although it is voluntarily used by major manufacturers and retailers.

However, according to Which? the system is used inconsistently.

It claims some shops do not include traffic light labelling, or provide it without colour coding.

Research by Which? captured insights through the mobile phones of more than 500 shoppers to find out how the traffic light system is working for customers.

A third (33%) said that the nutrition label was the first thing they looked at on the front of a pack.

People most used the traffic light system when choosing snacks (56%), dairy products (33%) and breakfast cereals (27%).

Almost half (47%) said they found this labelling easy to understand.

In focus groups, the traffic light system was the preferred food labelling option, although suggestions to improve it included making it more prominent and larger.

Which? said that people also called for making the scheme easier to understand, such as making the recommended serving size on some products more realistic and consistent.

The consumer champion is now calling on the Government to introduce a mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labelling scheme.

It said this could build on the existing traffic light system to make it work better for shoppers by bolstering consistency, making it more prominent and removing aspects people may find confusing.

Sue Davies, head of food policy at Which?, said: “The UK is in the midst of an obesity crisis and it’s clear that a better approach to front-of-pack labelling is needed to help shoppers make healthier choices.

“Which? is calling on the Government to ensure that all manufacturers and retailers use front of pack nutrition labelling, ideally by making this mandatory.

“Our research shows that people still prefer traffic light nutrition labelling, but that the current scheme needs updating so that it is clearer and simpler and works better for consumers.

“The new system should be backed up with effective enforcement and oversight by the Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland, so shoppers have full trust in the labels on their food.”

In 2022, some 64% of adults in England were estimated to be overweight or living with obesity.

In November it also emerged that one in 10 children in the first year of primary school in England is obese, the highest figure on record outside the pandemic.

It is estimated that obesity costs the NHS more than £11 billion every year.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “This Government is bringing in a modernised food nutrient scoring system to reduce obesity.

“It’s just one element of the strong action we are taking to tackle the obesity crisis as part of our 10 Year Health Plan, which will shift the focus from sickness to prevention.

“We are also restricting advertising of junk food on TV and online, limiting volume price promotions on less healthy foods and introducing mandatory reporting on sales of healthy food.”

Andrea Martinez-Inchausti, assistant director of food at the British Retail Consortium, said: “Retailers have led the way in nutrition labelling, consistently providing advice on healthy living.

“Whether that be through the traffic light system, or other measures, the industry is fully committed to helping improve the health of their customers and are constantly looking for what will work best for them.”



Source link

Continue Reading

Business

How IMAX crushed other theater stocks in 2025

Published

on

How IMAX crushed other theater stocks in 2025


An Imax private screening for the movie “First Man” at an AMC theater in New York on Oct. 10, 2018.

Lars Niki | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images

The theatrical industry is in flux — and one stock is rising above the rest.

Imax saw its shares jump more than 44% in 2025, even before the company announced that it had generated a record $1.28 billion at the global box office for the year. Those ticket sales marked a more than 40% increase over 2024 and were 13% higher than its previous record set in 2019.

Meanwhile, shares of fellow theatrical stocks AMC, Cinemark and Marcus Theatres cratered in 2025. AMC was down more than 60%, Cinemark’s stock fell 25% and Marcus Corp., which operates theaters and hotel chains, slumped around 28%.

The sharp declines on Wall Street come as theater operators struggle to grapple with massive changes in the industry.

Domestic ticket sales have rebounded from the record lows posted during the Covid pandemic, but remain about 25% below the the record-breaking $11.8 billion collected in 2018. The 2025 box office fell short of the $9 billion analysts had projected heading into the year, signaling to industry watchdogs that post-pandemic hurdles could be more permanent than anticipated.

“In an environment where consumer spending headwinds and economic concerns forced consumers to be choiceful with their entertainment spending, streaming services continue to represent an attractive option,” Eric Wold, executive director of equity research at Texas Capital Securities, told CNBC.

At the same time that consumer habits have shifted toward the home entertainment market, Hollywood is producing fewer films.

A combination of Wall Street penny-pinching, studio mergers and lingering production shutdowns from the pandemic and dual labor strikes has led to a significant drop-off in the number of movies hitting theaters.

“I think investors are still struggling with, and frankly, what everyone within the industry is still trying to figure out is, what is the real new normal for box office?” said Robert Fishman, senior research analyst at MoffettNathanson.

The winnowing of theatrical has left Imax ahead of the pack.

Move toward premium

When the theatrical slate is thin, Imax benefits, because when moviegoers do decide to leave their couches they are opting more and more for premium large format experiences.

In 2025, more than 16% of tickets sold for domestic showtimes were for these types of theaters, according to data from EntTelligence. That’s up from 15% in 2024 and 13.8% in 2023.

Often called PLFs, premium large format auditoriums are considered an elevated viewing experience, with bigger screens and higher-quality sound systems and seating options — and they come with higher ticket prices.

In 2025, general movie tickets averaged $13.29 apiece, while PLF tickets went for around $17.65 each, EntTelligence data showed. For comparison, premium tickets in 2024 averaged around $16.88 apiece.

As Hollywood shifts toward producing more big-budget blockbuster features — while medium-to-low-budget films are more often sent to streaming — PLF screens will become increasingly important.

After all, the films that benefit the most from PLF ticket sales have been Hollywood’s biggest releases, as audiences want to see explosive action movies and dazzling spectacles in the most state-of-the-art locations.

ScreenX is the world’s first multi-projection cinema with an immersive 270 degree field of view.

CJ 4DPLEX

On the docket for 2026 is Disney’s “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu,” Universal and Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey,” Netflix and Greta Gerwig’s “Narnia” and Warner Bros. and Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Three.”

All of these films were shot with Imax film cameras and will have theatrical releases on Imax screens.

The company has forecast its 2026 global box office haul at a new record of $1.4 billion.

“We see no signs of slowing down given a very promising slate ahead and the consistency of our market share gains, as filmmakers, studios, and audiences worldwide continue to gravitate toward the Imax experience,” said Rich Gelfond, CEO of Imax, in a statement Wednesday.

As of the end of September, Imax had more than 1,700 locations and a backlog of 478 contracts to build Imax screens. Notably, Imax screens represent less than 1% of the total movie screens worldwide.

Putting up profits

AMC, Cinemark and Marcus all have premium large format movie screens as part of their suite of theaters as well and have invested in creating more of these spaces in their cinemas.

But the chains are playing a game of catch-up.

AMC, in addition to its existing partnership with Imax, has plans to add more Dolby Cinema theaters to its U.S.-based locations as well as Screen X and 4DX auditoriums globally. Cinemark, too, made investments in the last year to add more Screen X theaters to its portfolio.

Of course, these upgrades can be expensive. In the case of AMC, renovations prior to the pandemic saddled the company with billions in debt, which was exacerbated during Covid-related shutdowns. The company is still dealing with this debt load.

Working in Imax’s favor is the fact that the company is notably asset-light, meaning it has minimized its ownership of physical assets like buildings by leveraging its technology and partnering with other companies.

Instead of costly real estate leases, Imax makes deals with cinema chains to install its equipment into their auditoriums and then takes a share of the box office receipts for films screened in those theaters.

AMC, Cinemark, Marcus and other theater operators, on the other hand, have the financial burden of rent and utility payments, which are only partially offset by ticket sales that they split with studios. Concessions — popcorn, soda and specialty food — have become the means for these businesses to drum up enough funds to cover expenses.

But, if the production slate isn’t strong and cinemas don’t have enough content to draw in moviegoers, then profitability is at risk.

In the first quarter of 2025, all three cinema stocks posted net losses. Marcus and Cinemark rebounded to profitability in the second and third quarter, as the calendar of films improved, while AMC posted two more periods in the red.

Imax, on the other hand, was profitable in all three quarters. Through the first nine months of 2025, Imax reported net income of $43 million, up 67% from the same period in 2024.

The theater stocks will all report fourth-quarter results in the coming weeks as earnings reports roll out.



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending